Perfect solution to dinner woes

THREE years ago, two Sunshine Coast women came up with the perfect solution to the worldwide issue people face nightly – what do I cook for dinner and how can I do it in a simple way?

Thanks to their straightforward idea, Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham have become an international phenomenon after taking their plan and turning it into the 4 Ingredients cookbook series.

Following three bestsellers, Kim and Rachael have now released 4 Ingredients: Fast, Fresh and Healthy – a project they compiled with spiritual author and physician Deepak Chopra.

The book has catapulted straight to number one – a feat Kim and Rachael are particularly proud of, as it delivers quick, manageable and healthy eating ideas to those who slave away to make meals for their families.

“The thing that we learnt from this book that we never learnt from any other book is how you can use food to make yourself feel really well,” Rachael said.

“Food affects mood and food affects the way that you live your life so we learnt a lot in the philosophy of food within this book which we hadn't learnt before.”

Kim felt that the timing of the book was perfect due to the tabloid media and celebrities constantly hyping up crazy diets. She said the new4 Ingredients book provided healthy and easy alternatives that worked.

“Everyone wants to learn how to eat healthier, be healthier, aspire to do both of those,” Kim said.

“Deepak says that food isn't all about protein, carbohydrates and fats: you should actually have a relationship with food.

“You should derive as much enjoyment from food as you should nourishment.

“We love food. We predominantly like to eat food but we cook a lot of it as well, so learning how to do it quicker, faster and healthier was wonderful.

“We learnt that through Deepak's vision of food and passion of food, it was good.”

Deepak's contribution helped the two women extend their knowledge of food, the tastes of food and how these balance each other out.

“Deepak has been wanting to do a book like this for a number of years but hasn't found the right partners to do it with until we approached him which was very, very cool,” Rachael said.

“It was a big honour,” Kim agreed.

“He has an aura. You kind of feel like you want to be blessed by him.

“We're very proud of the end result. It's a good book. It kind of goes back to natural products.

“It's different in that there is a little bit of science behind the recipes.”

The latest instalment in the series of cookbooks still follows the simple guidelines of only four ingredients per recipe with simple methods used to construct masterpieces.

Some new 4 Ingredients dishes include the Mozzarella and Tomato Pasta Bake and the Baked Pumpkin and Sage Flan. And while those may sound a bit fancy, anyone can make them with Rachael and Kim's easy recipes.

“It's a great cookbook regardless of your talent in the kitchen, that you can pick up and glean some sort of inspiration for the night's meal which is fantastic,” Rachael said.

“4 Ingredients is not hard to juggle. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to do it. Anybody can do it.

“Cooking through Fast, Fresh and Healthy was quite exciting to do. It was really a pleasant experience because you're experiencing so many different things – putting different ingredients you normally would never think of.”